Xbox and Ubisoft are giving players free PC copies of 13 Ubisoft games they already own digitally on Xbox.
Eligible players can access the PC versions through Ubisoft Connect without buying the games again. It is a genuinely good benefit for people who move between Xbox and PC, where buying the same game twice has long been one of the more frustrating parts of using both platforms.
What Is the Xbox Console-to-PC Offer?
The offer includes:
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
- Far Cry 6
- Immortals Fenyx Rising
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Riders Republic
- Skull and Bones
- The Crew 2
- The Crew Motorfest
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
- Watch Dogs Legion
Players who already own one of these games digitally on Xbox will receive access to the PC version through Ubisoft Connect. Xbox says the games are being added through a gradual rollout that will continue until August 4.
The offer only works from Xbox console to PC. Owning the PC version does not give players the Xbox console version for free.
For most games, the edition and downloadable content owned on Xbox will also transfer. That means players with Gold, Deluxe, or Ultimate Editions should receive the matching PC content, along with most season passes and add-ons.
Consumable items, including some forms of in-game currency, may not carry over. Players may also need to update Ubisoft Connect to the latest version before the games appear in their libraries.
More Ubisoft Games Are Coming to the Xbox PC App
Ubisoft is also bringing more games, premium editions, and downloadable content to the Xbox PC app. The expanded lineup includes titles such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Star Wars Outlaws, Rainbow Six Siege, Skull and Bones, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
Still, the console-to-PC offer is the more interesting part. Instead of asking existing Xbox owners to buy another copy, Ubisoft is carrying eligible purchases over to PC.
That is exactly the kind of thing digital ecosystems should do more often. I am a huge advocate for digital rights that extend far beyond the licensing model the industry currently offers consumers, but that is a discussion for another time.
I Found More Than I Expected in My Ubisoft Library
My friend Kasante from Gaming Circle Podcast mentioned the announcement to me, so I decided to check my own Ubisoft library.
I had not opened Ubisoft Connect on my main rig in a while. I actually had to install it again. Once I logged in, I saw a bunch of games sitting there, possibly more than I remember owning.
Some are easy to explain. I received Assassin’s Creed Valhalla through Ubisoft’s Stadia closure entitlement. I bought Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed Shadows directly through Ubisoft.
But all 13 games listed in the Xbox Wire console-to-PC offer now appear in my Ubisoft Connect library.
That is pretty great, but it also left me with questions. I have not checked my Xbox library in a while, so it is possible I bought more of these games than I remember. Some may also be tied to Game Pass, another Ubisoft entitlement, or a backend issue that still needs to be sorted out.
The Xbox Wire announcement explains why eligible Xbox purchases should now appear in Ubisoft Connect. What I still cannot tell is exactly where every license came from or whether every game showing in my library is permanent.
I have never known Ubisoft to be this magnanimous, but we will see. For now, Xbox players with linked Ubisoft accounts should probably check their own libraries. They may find more waiting for them than they expected.
